Date: 01 Feb 1915 - 28 Feb 1915

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Other details

Contained records

Telegram from a Mr McKechnie, Vickers Shipbuilders, Barrow [Lancashire], to Edward Marsh, Private Secretary to WSC, asking if WSC would be willing to meet Mr Smith, General Secretary of the Employers Engineering Federation, to discuss the serious labour position in the engineering trade as affecting naval work.

Telegram from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary], on [the submarine problem in the North Sea] as something which the Allied Powers should act on together. [Hand-written, signed by WSC, and initialled by Grey, noting that the matter should be considered in the light of a German announcement declaring the waters around Great Britain and Ireland a war region].

Admiralty intercepted message, giving a German official communique declaring the waters around Great Britain and Ireland a war region, and warning that hostile merchant ships and possibly neutrals would be attacked.

Intercepted wireless message from the German Embassy, on reports in newspapers that British merchant ships were to use a neutral flag, stating that this was an admission that Britain was unable to protect its merchant fleet. [Duplicate typescript].

Letter from Eric Eddison [Private Secretary to the President of the Board of Trade], to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on a complaint that a Liverpool broker had been appointed to sell contraband goods in Leith [Edinburgh, Scotland].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Lewis Harcourt [Secretary of State for the Colonies] on the grievance of Sir Robert Chalmers [Governor of Ceylon, later Sri Lanka] against the Naval Intelligence Division. WSC explains that the Director of the Division [Captain (William) Reginald Hall] had received a statement from a reliable source about Ceylon, and that he had passed it to the Colonial Office, in accordance with Departmental practice.

Letter from Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] to Sir Edward Grey, [Foreign Secretary], passing on WSC's regret that a telegram to Sir Alan Johnstone [British Minister to the Netherlands], on a German communique about attacking neutral shipping, had been sent, as he would have preferred to say nothing for a few days. Also includes a draft Admiralty press statement on the use of neutral flags by British shipping, stating that it was an ancient and well established practice of war, recognised by the German Naval Prize Regulations, and Grey's reply on the best way to inform the press.

Letter from R G Hickling, Norwich [Norfolk], to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on his astrological predictions of naval successes. Hickling predicts further success that month, saying that "what is done this month will probably decide the War". [Hand-written, with typescript copy, annotated by WSC].

Letter from Sir John Simon, Attorney General to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], with an amended draft of the Admiralty statement on Germany's declaration that British and French coastal waters were a "War Area" and that neutral shipping would be attacked.

Telegram from Sir Francis Elliot [British Minister to Greece] to the Foreign Office, on the possibility of Greece entering the war. Elliot states that Eleutherios Venizelos [Prime Minister of Greece], would be prepared to withdraw Greek troops and ships from Lemnos, and when it was occupied by Allied ships to send a formal protest for the sake of appearances. Includes copy of a reply from Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary] agreeing that Venizelos should consult the King of Greece first. [Hand-written copy].

Letter from Anthony Quilter, Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division, to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] on the state of his brigade, including problems with snipers, and suggesting that the Drake Battalion be added to the Hood, to make a 5 Battalion Brigade, adding that they would have a "really useful lot" in about a month.

Letter from King George V (Buckingham Palace [London]) to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], stating that he had not mentioned their conversation to anyone, and was well aware of the need for secrecy regarding the operation in the Mediterranean. He confirms that he would only speak of such matters to the 1st Sea Lord [Admiral of the Fleet 1st Lord Fisher] and occasionally to 1st Lord Stamfordham [Private Secretary to the King, earlier Arthur Bigge], "who is completely trustworthy".

Letter from Victor Augagneur, French Minister of Marine to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, approving WSC's plans for joint naval operations in the Mediterranean, and detailing the French fleet, including aircraft sent to the Suez Canal [Egypt], and explaining that they had no light cruisers available. Includes hand-written copy and note by WSC marking the letter as satisfactory.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Herbert Asquith, Prime Minister [later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith], on the importance of Serbia, asking why nothing had been done, and warning that Britain would soon be facing a disastrous situation in the Balkans. WSC states that Britain should be prepared to "play a stake" in the Balkan situation, and also mentions hiding the loss of HMS Audacious, explaining that the Admiralty would not be printing any more Navy Lists during the war.

Letter from Commodore Oliver Backhouse, 2nd Naval Brigade, (Blandford, Dorset) to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], explaining that all ranks in the Brigade wished to remain as they were, and not to be transferred to the 1st Brigade.

Letter from Lewis Harcourt [Secretary of State for the Colonies], to WSC, on Admiralty allegations of laxity regarding the supervision of enemy subjects in Ceylon [later Sri Lanka]. Includes copy of a minute from Sir [William] Graham Greene [Secretary to the Admiralty] to the Colonial Office on the original allegations (1914).

Letter from "Goonie" [Lady Gwendeline Churchill, earlier Lady Gwendeline Bertie] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], forwarding a letter [not present, from the Reverend Franklyn Lushington] to John S Churchill, and asking Marsh to arrange an appointment for Lushington to see WSC [about a position as a chaplain to the Forces].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Lewis Harcourt [Secretary of State for the Colonies] on Admiralty intelligence regarding supervision of enemy subjects in Ceylon [later Sri Lanka], stating that false information was often received, but that it had to be investigated. [Hand-written copy].

Letter from the Reverend Franklyn Lushington, Headmaster of Dover College, formerly Headmaster at Elstree School, to John S Churchill, asking for help in obtaining the post of a chaplain to the Forces, with a Public School or Naval Division.

Letter from William Cowan to the Director of the Air Department, Admiralty, [Captain Murray Sueter], on arranging an inspection of the Scott aero engine works. Includes note from Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] on arranging the inspection.

Telegram from WSC to Andrew Bonar Law [Leader of the Conservative Party], asking him to identify a ship to which he had referred in a speech [Bonar Law had complained that the Admiralty Transport Department were making inefficient use of merchant ships commandeered for war service]. [Hand-written copy, initialled by WSC].

Letter from Frederick Guest (British Army Headquarters) to WSC, on the possibility of Guest going to the Dardanelles as the Liaison Officer for the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, [Field Marshal Sir John French, later 1st Lord Ypres], promising to be "tactful and not to get in the way". Includes further note confirming French's agreement that Guest could go.

Letter from George Ritchie, (Dundee [Angus, Scotland]), to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] asking for help in obtaining a commission for his son in the Accountant Branches of the Army or the Navy.

Letter from Walter Runciman [President of the Board of Trade] to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], apologising for involving Sir Francis Hopwood [Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty, later 1st Lord Southborough], in Trades Union negotiations. Runciman also mentions his idea of extending War Risks Insurance to neutrals.

Letter from General Sir William Nicholls, Adjutant-General Royal Marines, to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on transferring men from the Royal Naval Division Depot, Crystal Palace [London], to the Royal Naval Division camp at Blandford [Dorset]. Includes a letter from Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, commander of the Crystal Palace depot, to Nicholls.

Letters from [?] Oswyn Murray [Assistant Secretary at the Admiralty] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] on arranging an interview between WSC and a representative of the Saturday Evening Post (one of the oldest papers in the United States).

Letter from J Dulberg (Fallowfield, Manchester) to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], asking for help in obtaining a commission in the Naval Brigade for a young man called Thompson, who had helped with WSC's election campaigns in Manchester.

Letter from Josiah Wedgwood to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], asking him to let himself and [? his son Francis Wedgwood] know, if anything turned up, and to ensure that Squadrons 1 and 2 did not leave for the Western Front without them.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith] on complaints from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War] about responsibility for Naval units serving with the Army on the Western Front. [Hand-written draft, unsigned].

Letter from Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, commander of the Royal Naval Depot, Crystal Palace [London], to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on an [unnamed] officer candidate who was quite unsuitable for a commission.

Letter from Herbert Asquith [Prime Minister, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith] to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on a complaint from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], that WSC had offered Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, later 1st Lord Ypres] a Brigade of the Naval Division and 2 squadrons of armoured cars for service on the Western Front. Asquith states that Kitchener felt that the Army had no need of these units but that he should have been consulted before the offer was made, and asks WSC to go and see Kitchener to put things right.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on his offer to send a brigade of the Naval Division and armoured cars to the Army in France. [Hand-written copy, unsigned].

Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], asking him to consider applications from Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, later 1st Lord Ypres] for Admiralty forces.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on the possible need for troops in the Dardanelles if the naval operations there were a success. [Hand-written copy].

Message from the French Foreign Minister on France's decision to send a division to Lemnos (following a response from Greece), requesting that naval operations in the Dardanelles be delayed. Includes WSC's response that the naval operations had already begun and could not be interrupted. [Hand-written, initialled by WSC].

Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on support for the Army on the Western Front, stating that if WSC had anything that could help the Army he should discuss the matter with the War Office before talking to Field Marshal Sir John French [Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, later 1st Lord Ypres]. Kitchener also mentions actions of the Shropshire Light Infantry in China.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on the use of the naval battalions and armoured cars by the Army in France. [Hand-written copy].

Letter from Patrick Hannon [General Secretary of the Navy League] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], enclosing letters from correspondents including Norris Goddard on co-operation between the Coast Guard authorities in Ireland and the Dublin Veterans Volunteers. Also includes note between Marsh, Captain [William] Reginald Hall, Director of the Intelligence Division, Admiralty, and others, on how to make use of the volunteers. Corps.

Letter from Josiah Wedgwood, (Royal Navy Armoured Cars, Holkham, Norfolk), to WSC, regretting that the possible use of the cars in South Africa was off, and begging WSC to let his squadron go to France.

Letter from Louis Harcourt [Secretary of State for the Colonies] to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], asking for a private note that he could "administer as an anodyne to Sir Robert Chalmers" [Governor of Ceylon, later Sri Lanka]. Includes WSC's reply, explaining that he could not please Chalmers without putting the Admiralty Intelligence Division in the wrong.

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on troops for the Dardanelles, asking for 8,000 to 10,000 troops in Egypt to be placed on immediate stand-by. [Hand-written copy].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on sending an advance party of troops from Egypt to the Dardanelles. WSC also asks if a "good General" could be sent there to cut off the enemy retreat, and suggests Major-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston.

Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on the transport of troops from Egypt to the Dardanelles, querying the numbers of men asked for by WSC. Includes copy of WSC's letter to him [at CHAR 13/47/85].

Letter from Frederick Butler [Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], sending a copy of a letter [not present] on the possible use of naval armoured cars in German South West Africa [later Namibia].

Letter from Captain Oliver Backhouse, (Headquarters, 2nd Naval Brigade, Blandford, Dorset) to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], asking for WSC's authority to draw men from the Collingwood Battalion to complete the 2nd Brigade, and from the Hawke and Benbow Battalions to complete the 1st Brigade.

Letter from John Davidson, [Private Secretary to Lewis Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies], to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], sending Harcourt's suggested reply to General Jan Smuts [South African Minister of Defence] on the use of Naval armoured cars in German South West Africa [later Namibia].

Telegram from 1st Lord Buxton, Governor-General of South Africa to the Colonial Office, passing on a message from General Jan Smuts [South African Minister of Defence] stating that the naval armoured cars were not required in German South West Africa [later Namibia]. [Carbon].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on his meeting with Lord Moulton [Director General of Explosives supplies, Ministry of Munitions], on co-ordinating cordite supply for both the Army and Navy. [Typescript copy].

Letter from Colonel Thomas Bridges, British Military Mission with the Belgian Army, to WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the military situation, including suggesting the use of a dummy Fleet to draw fire, explaining that motor boats and armoured cars had no use in the present siege war, and commending various officers.

Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on his own meeting with Lord Moulton, [Director General of Explosives supplies, Ministry of Munitions], on co-ordinating cordite supply for both the Army and Navy.

Report by Chief Transport Officer, Admiralty, on a design for an armoured car submitted by A Henry Savage-Landor, which was ingenious, but impracticable; includes covering note from Wing Commander Frederick Boothby to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] explaining that he had his full complement of armoured cars already, and that it was not worth taking up an untried new design.

Draft letter by Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on behalf of WSC, on a telegram appearing in the German newspaper Kolnische Zeitung, which referred to a speech by WSC on German attacks on British merchant shipping. Marsh clarifies the numbers of ships attacked. [Hand-written, with annotations by WSC].

Note by the French Attache on the size and command of the French force to be sent to the Dardanelles. Includes covering note from WSC to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary] and the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith].

Letter from Herbert Craig, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Tyneside Division, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], thanking WSC for appointing him Commander RNVR, and stating that the local supply of volunteers was almost exhausted, but that they could raise some very good boys if the age limit and chest measurements were reduced.

Letter from Major North Dalrymple-Hamilton (Bargany, Dailly, Ayrshire [Scotland]) to Arnold [? Quilter], regretting that he would be unfit for overseas service for at lest two months, and putting forward a scheme for the reorganisation of the Royal Naval Division. Includes note from Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC] to General Sir William Nicholls, Adjutant- General Royal Marines, passing on Dalrymple-Hamilton's letter, with Nicholls's reply.

Letter from [?] Alfred Chance to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on the visit to London by Robert Morton, Vice-President of the Morton Truck and Tractor Company, who was hoping to sell his four wheel drive truck to the Admiralty and the War Office. Includes covering note from Marsh asking if someone could see Morton.

Letter from Charles Scott, [Editor of] the Manchester Guardian, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on a request from the Admiralty that newspapers should not report the sinking of ships until the details had been officially announced by the Admiralty Press Bureau. Scott states that the request was impracticable, and that if a great liner it any other valuable ship was sunk with the loss of many lives, it was hardly possible that the press would ignore the event until the official announcement. He suggests that losses should be reported as they occurred day by day, in the briefest and most unsensational way.

Telegram from 1st Lord Buxton, Governor-General of South Africa to the Colonial Office, on the supply of naval guns to South Africa. Includes covering note from the Colonial Office to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC]. [Carbon].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener [Secretary of State for War], on the transport of troops to the Dardanelles, particularly Kitchener's countermanding of WSC's orders to prepare transports for the 29th Division, and whether French troops were to be used on Lemnos. [Typescript copy].

Letter from Sir Max Aitken [later 1st Lord Beaverbrook] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on the case of Sapper R Pepper, Royal Engineers, who was anxious to join the Royal Flying Corps; Aitken mentions that Pepper's father was an intimate friend of Andrew Bonar Law.

Letter from Captain Logan Stansfeld [commander, Royal Naval Anti-Aircraft Corps], to Edward Marsh on vacancies in the Anti-Aircraft Corps, stating that more volunteers were required for service in eastern and southern counties.

Letter from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State or War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on the transport of troops to the Dardanelles, including orders for the 29th Division, and whether to send a French division to Lemnos.

Letters from Field Marshal 1st Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State or War, to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], thanking WSC for sending him some maxim guns and asking for a Naval Air Squadron to support the Army in France.

Letter from WSC, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Sir Edward Grey [Foreign Secretary], sending a message to be forwarded to the Grand Duke Nicholas [Russian Minister of War], on the progress of the attack on the Dardanelles. WSC suggests that the Russian Black Sea Fleet should prepare to come to the entrance of the Bosphorus, with any troops that could be spared. [Hand-written copy].

Telegram from James McKechnie, [Director of] Vickers Shipbuilders Limited, to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], asking if WSC would be willing to meet Mr Smith, General Secretary of the Employers Engineering Federation, to discuss the serious labour position in the engineering trade as affecting naval work. Includes Admiralty note to Marsh.

Letter from Prince Louis of Battenberg [later 1st Lord Milford Haven] (Kent House, East Cowes, Isle of Wight) to WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty], on his resignation as 1st Sea Lord and decision to take no active part in the war.

Letter from Graeme Thomson [Director of Transports, Admiralty] to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on the transfer of a Lieutenant FitzGibbon from HMS Patrol to the naval transport staff at Le Havre [France].

Letter from WSC [First Lord of the Admiralty] to the Chancellor of the Exchequer [David Lloyd George], asking for authority for alterations and additions to the naval construction programme, including the conversion of two new battleships into battle-cruisers, two new monitor ships and two new light cruisers. [Hand-written copy].

Letter from L W Jenkins, Secretary to Major John Jacob Astor, (Cliveden [Buckinghamshire]) to Edward Marsh, Admiralty, on the appointment of Leonard Marshall of Plymouth [Devon] as a Midshipman in the Royal Naval Reserve.

Letter from E W Harding, Headquarters, Royal Naval Division, to Edward Marsh [Private Secretary to WSC], on the possibility of a commission in the division for A E McLaren, commenting that his spectacles would be " a bit of a bar".